The US Navy's newest submarine has completed her shakedown trials and is now available for operational tasking while a Norwegian rescue boat will soon be delivered to her owner. Construction continues on a Polish frigate and a Chilean landing ship. Lastly, a Croatian fire agency has selected a local builder for the construction of a new response boat.
The Zadar County Firefighting Association (VZZ) of Croatia has selected local company Iskra Shipyard for the construction of a new response boat.
The vessel is scheduled to be completed and delivered within 12 months of the signing of the contract, which is valued at approximately €2.24 million (US$2.6 million).
Iskra Shipyard said the VZZ fire boat will be a further development of a proven concept that the company successfully implemented through an earlier search and rescue (SAR) vessel built for Croatia's Emergency Maritime Medical Service (EMMS).
The US Navy said that it has completed shakedown trials on the Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) USS Massachusetts and that the submarine is ready for fleet tasking.
The navy remarked that, "as a result of the superb material condition and combat readiness," is waived the post-shakedown availability of the SSN.
"This decision was made possible by the operational quality of the ship during trials and the urgency to deliver warfighting capability to the fleet," the navy said in a press release.
Chilean shipbuilder ASMAR has laid the keel of a new landing platform dock (LPD) slated for the Chilean Navy.
The future Rapa Nui is the second of a planned class of four LPDs that ASMAR is building for the Chilean Navy. Class lead ship Magallanes was launched earlier this year.
Design work on the Magallanes-class ships was undertaken by Canadian naval architecture firm Vard Marine. The vessels will be capable of operating in Antarctica and can be employed for secondary missions such as humanitarian assistance and disaster response, logistical support, and search and rescue.
Norwegian boatbuilder GOT Marine has completed conducting sea trials of a new search and rescue (SAR) boat ordered by the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue (Redningsselskapet; RS).
The vessel, which has been given the designation RS178, will be the largest in the RS fleet with a length of 32 metres as well as space for firefighting equipment and compartments for housing rescued survivors.
A hybrid propulsion setup delivers speeds of up to 30 knots, a range of 600 nautical miles, and a bollard pull of 30 tonnes. RS said this is the first hybrid propulsion installation on a rescue vessel of this size in Norway.
The Polish Navy has formally named the first ship in a new class of three multi-role frigates.
The future ORP Wicher is being built by PGZ Stocznia Wojenna in collaboration with Remontowa Shipbuilding and defence technology firms the Babcock International Group, Thales, and MBDA.
The Miecznik-class frigates are being built as variants of a Babcock warship design that also serves as the basis for the Type 31 or Inspiration-class frigates ordered by the UK Royal Navy and for a separate class of frigates to be built under licence by state-owned PAL Indonesia for the Indonesian Navy.
